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(No Model.) v 2'Sheets- Sheet 1. J. EWINGHELL.

FEED REGU-LATING MECHANISM. v 1%.. 397,045. Patented Jan. 29, 1889'.

WITNESSES, E

- v Jameaf%nciezl fifl H I J onneyJ'.

N. PETERS. Phoh-Liih gnphef. Wuhh'lgwn. D- C.

(No Model.)

2 sheets sheet 2.

J. P. WINOHELL. FEED REGULATING MECHANISM.

No. 397,045. Patented Jan. 29,1889.

WITNESSES M1516 eyy tirirrnn States Arena Fries,

JAMES F. \VlNtlll lllll, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE FOOS MANU- l AVPFRIXG COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FEED-REGULATING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 397,045, dated January 29, 1889.

Application filed January 25, 1886. Serial No. 189,680. (No model.)

To all who/2L it 'm/r/ concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs F. \YINCHELL, a

citizen of the l 'n ited States, residing at Spring the two latter conditions of speed exist the mill will choke in the one instance sooner or ,tield, in the eountyof (larkand Stateolj' Ohio, have invented. certain new and useful improvements in Fecd-Regnlating llleehanism, of which the following .is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in feed-regulating mechanisms for grindingniills, and is speeially designed tor'nse in connection with mills which are operated froma source of power exposed to a wide variation of speed, as wind-engines. Grinding-mills generally perform the operation of reducing the material fed into them with greater dispatch and thoroughness when run at not less than a given speed, determined by the size and character of the .mill, while it run much below that speed they fail. to grind and become choked unless the feed is stopped altogether. In the mills with which it is specially contemplated to use the present invention a speed of about eight hundred revolutions per minute (or upward) of the grinding-plates is found to be the minimum velocity of rotation for securing the maximum grinding capacity of the mill, while at a speed of less than from six hundred and fifty to six hundred revolutions per minute of the grindingplatcs the mill becomes choked, the parts bind together, and, if the further feed of the material is not entirely out off, the machine is-exposed to serious strains, and should the machine suddenly resume its movement disarrangei'nent and breakage follow. The latter remarks have special application to wind-engines, for when the wind brisk and of good velocity the mill operated by the wiud-(mgine will run at the requisite speed; bn t when the wind moderates or ceases entirely the en gines speed lessens or fails altogether, and the rotation of the grindlug-plates of the mill falls be low the proper velocity for keeping up the requisite rapidity of grinding or for grinding at all, or the mill will actually stop. Should the quantity of the in How of the material into the mill be continued under the first of these conditions, the product will be imperfect, and

if that condition of speed and the inflow be continued too long the mill will overflow and stop; or if any in it ow at all be allowed when later and in the other instance will choke at once. To overcome these diflieulties and to permit of the use for operating grindingmills, of a driving-power subject to -wide variations of speed and. subject to absolute stoppage and sudden restarting, and this without the necessity of a eonst ant attendant upon the machine, is what l have in view; and therefore my invention consists inv means for both. regulating the inllow or feed of the material to the mill aceordin g to the speed thereof and for entirely euttingotl or stoppingthe feed when the speed of the mill falls below a given. velocity, or when the mill actually stops, the latter being the principal object,

i all as hereinafter described, and. then pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and on which like reference-letters indicate correspondingparts, Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional View of the hopper and feeder or feeding-roller, showing the governor or governor mechanism in side elevation; Fig. 2, a face View of the feeder or feedingroller, a portion of the governor-wheel, and the ratchet and pawl; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the governor or governor mechanism and wheel; and Fig. 4, a like View of a portion. of the wheel, showing a modified form of means for connecting the pawl with the feed-roller shaft.

The letter A designates the hopper which receives the supply of material. to be fed to the mill, which is constructed, preferably, of one piece of cast-iroiuand is designed to fit upon a mill, as at A, (when used with the mill (lGSCllbQCl in my applications filed, re

spectively, on or about November 9, 1885, Se-

which termination is above the body of the bottom, so that the material travels uphill in discharging, which prevents it from jarring thriiugh when the feed-wheel is not re- Vol vi ng.

The letter I) designates a shaft, which. is mounted in bearings formed in the walls of the hopper and eccentrically to the bottom ill, and is provided with a feeder or feedingroller, E, of any approved type, but preferably otf that shown, in which the ])(.l'l])ll(1y is provided with a series of longitudinal ribs or teeth which take into the material and [Feed it positively over the bottom and into the throat when rotateii'l. in the direction of the arrow, and as positively prevents the passage of the material when notrotated. The tapering passage between the feeder or feedingroller and. the opposite wall and the bottom of the hopper admits ot' a proper t'eei'ling action.

'I' will now [)lt)(1()(f(l todescribe the governor or governor mechanism which serves to control the i'eeding-roller in respect to giving motion to it or not, as will hereinalter more fully appear.

'lhe shal't i) also carries a belt-wheel, l nnmnted loosely thereon, over which passes a belt which receives motion from. any conven ient pulley operat ed by the power which operates t he mill, as by the sleeve-pulley on the main shaft of themills d eseribed in my said ap- 'ilications. Attached to one of the spokes, or otherwise pivotally mounted on said wheel l are the arms G and l'l',car1;ving each a weight or ball, I, at its outer end which swing when the wheel is in rotation outwardly under the influence o'l. centrifugal .t'orce. To the arms is also attz'icluial by a pivotal connection a pi tman, J, the arm ll having an extension, K, beyond its 'l'nleruni-point for this purpose, and so as to permit the centrifugal action to operate the pitman transversely to the axis of the wheel. To the same spoke is also pivotally mounted a two-armed pawl, L M, the arm M of which is bifurcatral and embraces the pitman J between two eollars,N, mounted thereon, whereby, as the pitman is moved in either direction, as will be presently explained, the arm M will be carried with it, and the other arm, L, of the pawl adjusted with respect to the axis of the wheel. This latter arm has a projecting toot, t), as seen 11'10'10 clei'irly in liig. L, and rigidly mounted upon the sluit't 'l is a ratchet, P, having any convenient number of teeth, with which the loot of said. pawl is made to engage or to disengage, according to the speed of the wheel F. A spiral or other l'orm ol' s n-ingflg, is attached at one end to the wheel and at the other to the arm (.l in the )'res .a1tinstance, and preferably by an ai'ljnstaljile connection consisting of the slot R in the arm (l and the binding-serew b, whereby the tension of the s 'n'ing may be incl-raised or decreased, and thus make the d egree of speed necessary to overcome the tension of. the spring and throw the arms out wardly more or less rapii'l. From these re marks it will be pnderstood that the spring tcnds to keep the arms and balls toward the center oi. the wheel, and the foot 0, consequently, out of engagementwith the ratchet I. Thus it will be observed that when the wheel 11 is stationary the feeding-roller will also be stationary and the migagement ot the tool; 0 with the rat chet 1. broken; also, that when the wheel is put in motion by the starting of the mill the tendency will be for the balls to iiiyt'rom the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 toward that shown in Fig. 3, the degree of this outward travel being controlled by the speed at which. the wheel F is traveling and the tension to whichv the spring Q has been adjusted. \Vhen, however, the mill has attained. the minimum grini ling speed, the wheel F will have attained a speed si'ittieient to cause the balls to move the arms si'il'tieiently to operate the pitman and throw the foot 0 of the pawl L M withinv the periphery oil the ratchet P and rotate the same, and consequently the shaft l) and the feedingroller. So long as this speed is maintained so long will the ti'eei'ling be maintained in the pmper ratio, and as the speed is increased the quantityoi' material fed into the machine is eorres imidingly increasta'l; but the moment the speed. is rei'luced. below the minimum at which the ngagement ot' the pawl and ratchet takes place, that moment the spring and the absence of the reqi'iired centrifugal. forcev break that engagement and the totaling-roller comes to rest, though the mill and wheel I" continue in motion. The same is true it the mill and wheel come to an entire stop. \Vith this governor or governor mechanism a mill can be suppliei'l with a hopper of large capacity-say ot' the capacity for a (laws or a night s work-and eonnectml with a wind-engine. llf the machine is set For work at the close of the day, :it will grind during the night accordins, y as the wind may blow, and it. it is squally the wind will operate accoidinglyand the feed be correspondingly controlled, but not allmved to run at all into the mill it the speed thereof is below the minimum speed at which the mill successfully grinds. On the other hand, without the governor or governor mechz'mism the feed is allowed to continue, notwitlistandingthe speed falls below that of grinding capacity. The result is that if the wind be light for awhile material is al-- lowed to ace'llmulz'ite in the mill and choke and stop .it. Then when the wind increases the mill will not operate, or it. the increase happens to be in a sudden gust the belt will either slip or the mill or the windengine be broken, and this may occur early in. the night, while t'rom that time on until morn ing, whenv the mill is revisited, the windv may blow most favorably tor the purpose ollgrind ing. Thus the material. will be found un ground, the time lost, and probably the mill or the engine, or both, damaged. With the governor or governor mechanism, however,

which, as above noted, positively stops the inii ow of the material below a given speed, such does not occur; but on revisiting the mill, after having left it set for work, itwill be found to have accomplished all the work the state of the wind admitted of, and the parts will not be damaged nor choked.

In Fi g. 4 I have illustrated a modified form of constructing the means for connecting the pawl with the shaftD, consisting of the sleeve T, mounted on the shaft 1), instead of the ratchet P, and of the strap U, connected with the wheel at one end and with the foot 0 of the pawl L hll at the other, and which binds against the periphery of the sleeve T when the pawl is thrown toward the shaft D, passing back of the sleeve, as viewed in Fig. 4.

I do not (ontinemyself to the details of construction or arrangement illustrated, nor to the useol? the governor or governor mechanism in connection with a hopper or feeding mechanism of any particular construction.

.llaving thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1 l. The combination, with a hopper, of a feeding-reller, a ratchet, a wheel, and a governor and a pawl mounted on said whcel,and a spring connecting the governor with the wheel, substantially as described, whereby the feeding-roller is engaged with the wheel and disengaged therefrom according to the speed at which the wheel is revolved.

2. The combination; with a hopper, of a feeding-roller, a wheel, pivoted weighted arms carried thereby, a pitman, a spring, and a pawl and ratchet to engage said wheel with the feeding-roller, whereby when the wheel attains a given speed the material is fed and when the wheel falls below that speed the material is cut oil".

3. The combination, with a hopper having a bottom partially across it, a shaft mounted in said hopper, a ratchet, and a feeding-roller mounted 011 said shaft within the hopper and ()CCGl'ltlflCEtllY to the bottom thereof, of a wheel, mounted 011 the roller-shaft, arms pivotally attached to said wheel, a connecting-pitman, a pawl actuated by said arms and pitman to I engage the wheel with the shaft, and a spring to break said engagement.

4:. The combination, with amilland .itshopper, of a feeder co-operating with said hopper, a rotating governor mounted in proximity to laid feeder, and clutch devices actuated by the governor to connect the governor and feeder shaft together when the governor reaches a given speed and disconnect them when the governor falls below said speed, whereby in the one instance the feeder-is actuated and the cereals fed and in the otherinstance the feeder is not actuated and the coreals not fed.

The combination, with the hopper consisting of a receiving portion, the throat portion, and a curved bottom located at the j u n cture of the receiving portion and said throat and extending partly across the latter, of a grooved :l'eeding-rollor mounted within the hopperand eccentricafll y t o the bottom thereof and forming a tapering space between the said bottom and its periphery, and adapted to feed the material when rotated and to cut off the feed when stopped, a ratchet, the roller-shaft on which it is mounted, a wheel on said shaft, governor mechanism carried thereby and consisting of pivoted arms having weights and a pitman connectin them, and a pawl con trolled by said pitman and thereby made to engage and disengage said ratchet.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES F. VINCHELL.

Vitn esses:

A. A. YEATMAN, CHASE STEWART. 

